Opinion: Initiative 82 was supposed to help D.C.'s tipped workers. It did the opposite.

The 51st | Yana Tarkanova | July 10, 2025

The law eliminating D.C.'s tipped wage has actually reduced my income.

As a professional server with over a decade of experience, I’m passionate about my job and committed to standing up for my fellow tipped workers. I chose this career path because I love everything about food and making people happy. Until recently, it’s been a career that offered great flexibility and compensation that allowed me to support my family in the expensive D.C. area. Initiative 82 put that all at risk, and I truly want the D.C. Council to follow Mayor Muriel Bowser’s lead to repeal it. 

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Since Initiative 82 began to take effect, my work has been cut by up to 10 hours a week. Newly implemented service fees at the restaurant where I work – many restaurants have implemented similar fees in order to avoid financial disaster – have decreased my average tip percentage from 23-25% to 18-20%. Customers are simply not willing to tip more than that when they’re already paying an additional 5% fee. And who can blame them?